Following the indictment of former US President Donald Trump in New York, District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now also suing a senior Republican for interference in the case. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee he chairs are responsible for an “unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional attack” on the ongoing prosecution against Trump, Bragg said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan.
Jordan is leading a “campaign to intimidate and attack District Attorney Bragg.” The move aims to prevent the Judiciary Committee from taking action against Trump’s indictment. In the document, Bragg asks the court to invalidate and unconstitutional a subpoena already issued by former New York City Attorney Mark Pomerantz — and any other subpoenas that may exist. Pomerantz was involved in investigations against Trump.
Last week, Trump was criminally indicted in connection with hush money payments to a porn star in New York – as the first former US president in history. He was briefly taken into custody and pleaded “not guilty”.
Trump ally Jordan had previously taken an aggressive stance against Bragg and initiated Judiciary Committee action against him. He also claimed without evidence that Bragg was acting under “political pressure from left-wing activists.” It is not ruled out that the committee could also summon the prosecutor himself.
Republicans pressure Bragg
With their majority in the House of Representatives, the Republicans can advance parliamentary investigations and try to put Bragg under pressure in other ways. According to media reports, the committee announced that it would travel to New York in the coming days to hear the prosecutor’s “victims”. After taking office in 2022, Bragg had to defend himself against allegations that he was too soft on street crime.
The lawsuit now filed mentions indirect and direct threats against Bragg – including a message from Trump. This showed a photo collage with a picture of Trump with a baseball bat next to a picture of the prosecutor. It also mentions an envelope containing white powder and a death threat that arrived at Bragg’s office. The powder later turned out to be harmless. The office has also received more than 1,000 calls from people claiming to be Trump supporters. Many of those calls were threatening and racist.
Before Trump was indicted, Bragg, Manhattan’s first black district attorney, had already prepared his colleagues for turbulent weeks and months. In a letter to staff quoted in the US media, he promised that all threats against the prosecutor would be investigated: “We will not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”
